Ashley King | Top 40 Under 40 2025

Age: 33

Occupation: Artistic Associate, Inside Out Theatre

After a night out in Bali in 2011, then 19-year-old Ashley King awoke in darkness, struggling to breathe. She had methanol poisoning, likely from a laced drink.

Doctors saved her life, but she was left with just two per cent of her vision. King, who had always imagined a career as an actor, realized she needed to reimagine what life would — literally — look like.

“I grew up acting, and I thought I would be an actor,” says King. “But I couldn’t even cross the street on my own.”

As King came to terms with losing her vision, she found purpose in her passion for storytelling and decided to pursue journalism at Mount Royal University. In 2017, King found her way back into the acting world. That year, she wrote a story about Inside Out Theatre, a deaf, disability and mad theatre company, and its then-grassroots Good Host program. King felt an immediate connection. She began working with Inside Out, and, in 2018, was hired as the company’s artistic associate. In her role, King oversees the Good Host program, making theatre accessible to all through audio-described and relaxed performances and ASL interpretation. Through King’s efforts, the program is now nationally recognized, hosting over 50 accessible events each year.

King also expanded Good Host’s audio description program, training and mentoring 22 audio describers across Alberta, ensuring consistent audio description at arts events.

In September 2024, King debuted her first play, Static: A Party Girl’s Memoir. Written and performed by King, and co-produced with Inside Out Theatre and Chromatic Theatre, it tells the story of King losing her vision.

Along with Good Host accessibility measures, Static held bilingual performances and a “Brown Out” night for Latinx audiences, embracing King’s Mexican heritage. After Static’s nearly sold-out run, King turned it into a podcast, which topped Apple Podcast charts in Canada and reached over 24,000 downloads.

“I’m doing exactly what I want to be doing, and, even more so, I’m helping people,” she says.

Thank yous
“My mother, Carolina King; my partner, Trent Brookhouse; my mentors, Col Cseke, Meg Wilcox and Kodie Rollan; all my friends and family who have supported me and my wild endeavours throughout the years!”